Animas Forks is a ghost town located near Silverton, Colorado. The first cabins were built by prospectors in 1873. The town was originally called Three Forks of the Animas before being shortened to Animas Forks. By 1876, Animas Forks was a bustling mining community with 30 cabins, a hotel, a saloon, a post office, and a general store. The town never had a large population only peaking at about 500 people. This was probably in part because of the high elevation and the inability to be occupied year-round.

The town suffered a cataclysmic fire in 1891 that resulted in it becoming a virtual ghost town. However, the establishment of the Gold Prince Mill on the eastern edge of the town resulted in a resurgence from 1905 to 1910. Despite this, by 1910, most of the mining had stopped in the area and Animas Forks was a ghost town by the 1920s.